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South Korea’s crusade against digital currency bad actors is heating up following the announcement from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) that it will extend existing laws against phishing to the digital currency industry.
The FSC recently laid out its plans, stating that it will seek amendments to the voice phishing countermeasures law to protect digital asset investors. If the scheme scales all legislative hurdles, the Telecommunication Fraud Damage Recovery Act will apply to all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in South Korea.
Under the proposal, law enforcement authorities will have the power to freeze and seize funds linked to fraudsters on local cryptocurrency exchanges. FSC plans to set up a 24 hour response system to enhance monitoring of phishing activity in the ecosystem.
The changes will allow various law enforcement agencies to share data with financial firms to provide “quick relief from voice phishing using simple remittances”. In addition, the Government’s Joint Investigative Team for Voice Phishing Crimes and the Unified Voice Phishing Report and Response Center will play a key role in keeping tabs on digital currency bad actors.
“Regarding the announced countermeasures, we will push the bill legislatively and submit it to the National Assembly for future revisions to the law, and we will respond to the evolving voice phishing techniques rapidly developing systems such as financial institutions,” the FSC said.
Voice phishing scammers operate by calling victims and impersonating government officials or staff of reputable companies with the ultimate goal of extracting personal information. Using personal information, fraudsters break into victims’ digital wallets to siphon their funds.
Voice phishing scams involving digital assets have increased 100% since 2020, with $15 million worth of assets stolen using this tactic.
Hit hard against North Korean hackers
Data from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) blames North Korea’s elite hacker group Lazarus Group for being behind more than half of digital currency thefts in the country. The NIS report confirmed that state-sponsored hackers stole more than $600 million from the country, while Chinese hacker groups accounted for only 4.7% of the thefts.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued new sanctions against hacker gangs that carry out robberies in conjunction with US security agencies to counter their activities.
“The South Korean government has decided to take special measures to counter illegal cyber activities, which are one of North Korea’s main sources of funding for nuclear and missile development,” the ministry said.
Watch: Trust But Verify Everything
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